Last Sermon for awhile

Next Sunday will be the last Sunday that I can worship with the Austin Avenue Church Of Christ in person for a little over three months. I am not looking forward to that absence because this church body has been a great source of strength to Julie and me. While I cannot feel your hugs and see your smiles, I know of your great love. You blessed Julie and me with the freedom to work on my treatments and recovery. You took away so many concerns with your generous gift. We know we are not alone; you surround us with support; even when we cannot see you physically, we know of your love and concern. We are not alone; we know that Christ is with us every step of the way. I am reminded of David’s great passage of comfort, “even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for thou art with me.” This next Sunday, I want to share the most important message I know how to give. I want to talk to you about pursuing God. It is not about rules; it is about relationship. I am grateful that God has led me to this point and this place. I want you to know the peace that comes from trusting in Christ and trusting that He is enough. For all of those who are in covenant with Him, trust Him. For those who are not in covenant with Him, don’t wait any longer. The next step in my treatment will not be easy, but it is necessary. God has prepared Julie to be my caregiver. God has prepared me to endure. God has prepared you to be a light of faithful trust to a whole community that is watching. May we all live a life worthy of our calling. In Him J. Tom Washburn

Stem Cells and The Holy Spirit

I operate under the paradigm that truth is always true, and all truth can teach us something about, or from, our Creator. An easy-to-understand example is when you add something to something else; you end up with something that has been changed from its origin. We are changed when we add something to our lives or take something out of our lives. The trick is finding those things that help us grow in a positive and godly direction. The next step in my cancer treatment is to go through stem cell therapy. They will kill my immune system and then reintroduce my stem cells (after they have been purified) back into my body. This process will leave me vulnerable to diseases and infections until I have grown a new immune system. This process will take twenty-eight days in a hospital facility and seventy-two days in isolation at home. I will not be restored for one full year, but I should be able to function with caution after the first one hundred days. In addition to quarantine, I will be put on maintenance medication to help me continue fighting cancer in my body. As I think about and ponder on the things that are ahead for Julie and me, I could not help but think of how the Holy Spirit functions in the life of a believer. As my immune system, the Holy Spirit helps me fight the disease and cancer of sin. When I became a Christian, all my sin was washed away, but that doesn’t mean the attack of sin was eliminated. I need the power of the Holy Spirit to fight the sin that wants to reclaim me, and I need the maintenance that comes from prayer and The Word to help me continue my journey of sanctification. This isn’t going to be easy, but true repentance is seldom easy. I am going through this procedure because it gives me hope. We go through the process of repentance because it gives us hope and leads us to the One who gives us life. In Him J. Tom Washburn

Count it Pure Joy?

In his letter, James teaches a hard truth, listen to what he says in James 1:2-4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (NIV) We can only make it through the hard times is to keep our focus on the end results. High School boys focus on the first football game of the season when they are suffering through two-a-days. Backpackers focus on the comfort of the campfire they will have that night as they push on down the trail. As Christians, we focus on Christ and the splendid reward that is waiting for us when we are under attack from the enemy. As I visited with my new doctor this past Monday, she told me about the difficulty I will go through when I have the stem cell procedure. First, they will harvest my bone marrow. Next, Julie and I will spend four weeks in isolation in Dallas. The first 14 days will be in the hospital, and the next 14 days will be spent in the hospital’s apartment. During that time, they will kill my immune system with a harsh chemo drug, and after that, they will put my stem cells, which have been purified, back into my body. I have been told that I will get very sick, but I will be good to go for a few more years when everything is over. Too often, we miss out on the more significant reward by settling for the lesser comfort of the right now. We don’t want to go through the difficult times that bring us to the greater reward. That is true in our physical life and our spiritual life. Trials given to us by God are not meant to defeat us; they are there to strengthen us. They can help us learn to lean on Him more and, in the process, increase our faith. I may not be looking forward to the four weeks of treatment ahead of me, but I am looking forward to week number five. Set your focus on Christ in your Christian walk and start looking forward to week number five. In Him J. Tom Washburn